FENTANYL-LACED HEROIN FOUND IN OHIO

Mansfield, Columbus Labs Identify Fatal Combo

MANSFIELD, Ohio -- The deadly mix of drugs that has killed addicts in
Detroit, Chicago and Philadelphia has reached Ohio. Mansfield police
have identified the powerful prescription painkiller fentanyl in six
of the last 10 batches of heroin confiscated by police.

Mansfield police laboratory director Anthony Tambasco said he decided
to start looking for fentanyl after hearing about the deaths in
Detroit just before Memorial Day.

Authorities there have confirmed 100 fentanyl/heroin deaths. Another
60 were confirmed in the Chicago area.

"It's not something you normally look for," Tambasco said.

Police are trying to find out if recent drug overdoses were caused by
the painkiller, commonly prescribed in patch form.

"We haven't been able to directly relate any overdoses to fentanyl
yet," Mansfield Police Sgt. Mike Bammann said. "We had a death, and
it tentatively appears to be an overdose, but we're still waiting for
the toxicology report."

Tambasco said he saw a drugabuse case Tuesday with paraphernalia that
contained fentanyl.

Fentanyl at about 3 percent strength is all it takes to make a
combination with heroin deadly, Bammann said. "You can't tell it's in
there, and fentanyl on itself is deadly, much less putting it with
heroin," he said.

Columbus police have discovered three to four cases of fentanyl mixed
with heroin in the past month, crime lab manager Jami St. Clair said.
The tests the lab runs on drugs not only confirm the presence of
heroin, but also any other substances in the mix, she said.

Fentanyl can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin, said Columbus
Police Sgt. Steve Overholser, who works in the narcotics bureau. "A
heroin abuser knows how much he typically uses and if he's unaware
his heroin is cut with fentanyl and uses the same amount, you can see
where the problems start," he said.

The State Highway Patrol crime lab has not run across any fentanyl in
the heroin it tests, Lt. Rick Zwayer said. But, he added, troopers
typically confiscate more marijuana and cocaine then heroin.

Some of the heroin Tambasco tested was confiscated.

Some was purchased by officers in undercover buys, Bammann said. "We
know who we are buying from," Bammann said. "We are hoping that
through these lab tests to be able to work back and pinpoint the
people we have bought this bad heroin from and work backwards to a
supplier who's bringing this stuff into our area." Bammann said he
has instructed officers to be extremely careful whenever they suspect
a substance to be heroin.

"Should you get some, merely by handling it, on your fingers and rub
it into a mucus membrane, like your eyes or mouth, you could
overdose," he said.

Tambasco, who will be testing more heroin this week, said he's not
sure if the heroin mixed with fentanyl is from the same source. "It's
a health hazard to start with, but it just got worse," he said.